An Offer He Couldn't Refuse
by The Third Biker Scholar
Summary: There was only one thing he had ever really asked from her, and by god, if it would save her mother's life, she would give it to him! Roxanne will make Megamind an offer he can't refuse...(Might become M later on).
1. Chapter 1

I needed a break from my traditional fandom, and I've always really liked this movie, so I thought I'd give this a shot.

I don't own Megamind, Roxanne, or that fantastic fish.

An Offer He Couldn't Refuse

Prologue

At Metro City Hospital, the finest doctors in the city of a superhero have been doing their best to help the patients that come from all over the state to see them. They were some of the best in the world, and their staff boasted some of the best oncologists in the United States. But of course, there are some cases even the best can't cure. On this warm spring day, the birds were singing in the trees of the courtyard of the hospital as Roxanne Ritchie paced outside her mother's room in the Intensive Care Unit.

Roxanne couldn't help her hands wringing nervously. The nurse was taking a few more blood samples, and had shooed her out of the room. Away from where her mother was lying in that hospital bed, looking so small and frail. The smell of sickness and antiseptics stung the reporter's nose; she hated hospitals. Her shoes squeaked loudly as she walked over the pale linoleum tiles, the nurses rushing by in their duties. The woman couldn't help but think over what brought her here to this moment.

Oh god, this couldn't be happening! Her mother couldn't be sick, she just couldn't! Her mother, Rhonda Ritchie, had always been strong and healthy and nothing ever got her down for long.

But her mother had shown symptoms of something wrong for weeks now, and then a few days ago, she'd found a lump. A lump in her breast tissue, oh god! She'd insisted on going with her to the doctor's, and they'd confirmed the small family's worst fears.

It was cancer. Breast cancer, and already advanced to a shocking degree. They had done tests and found the malignancy in other areas as well.

The doctors said that it sometimes just happened like that, and it was just something in her mother's genetics that made the cancer so severe so quickly. Rhonda had insisted on Roxanne getting a mammogram immediately, and the younger woman had agreed, receiving a clean bill of health. But her mother was not so lucky. The physicians had given her less than three months to live.

Her mother had promised that she would fight this with everything she had, but Roxanne saw how much it was draining her. She looked so pale and thin, like she was being slowly eaten alive by the cancer that had already been starting to spread throughout her system. The reporter was watching the only family she had left die.

This couldn't be happening! There had to be something she could do, something that could save her mother. She couldnt' just sit by and do nothing! Roxanne sat in a chair in the hall, her head in her hands. She was no doctor, and she didn't even know where to start to try and get her mother the help she would need in time to save her life. Who in the world could help her now? No matter what the labs all said, they were still years away from a cure. No one could just develope a cure overnight!

Unless...her thoughts whirled, remembering flying brain bots, giant robots, an invisible car, a fish being able to pilot a robotic gorilla suit like it was merely an extension of his will. She did know someone that might be able to help her, someone so smart that they just might be able to save her mother...

Megamind.

No. It was crazy to even think like this. He was a villain! Okay, he wasn't anywhere near as evil as he thought he was, but the general principle was still there. Why would he even want to help her?

She didn't even know if he knew the first thing about medicine.

But...he was brilliant. Without a doubt, he was the most intelligent man she knew, if not the most intelligent man on earth. If he didn't know anything about medicine, he could learn it easily. After all, that brain of his was big for a reason. And if he did know about medicine, maybe he really could do it...

Of course, that still left the issue of 'why the hell should he help her'? She doubted that he would just up and tackle the medical enigma of curing cancer just because she batted her eyes and asked nicely. She could offer to pay him, but honestly, he never seemed to be hurting for funds, (whether they were gained legally or not.) Not to mention, she didn't make anywhere near as much as people seemed to think she made. Just helping pay off her mother's medical bills would completely decimate her bank accounts; she'd have nothing left to pay him with.

She couldn't offer him Metro Man's weakness.

She really didn't see how she could help him take over the city either. (Unless he could somehow transfer her seemingly over-abundance of _basic common sense _into his cranium.)

Hell, the only thing he'd ever really asked of her was if she'd be...

Oh.

_Oh._

There was, in fact, one thing he wanted from her...

...and by god, if he could save her mother, she'd gladly give it to him.

She could do this.

She _would _do this.

A gleam came into her eyes that wouldn't have looked too out of place on the supervillian's face. Her breath caught in her chest as she mentally reviewed her wardrobe, wondering if she had the right gear for the job. Did she still have those shoes? That dress? Those lacy underthings in the right color? God, she hoped so. After all, Megamind was all about presentation, and this deal would need every advantage presentation could give her.

Roxanne Ritchie would make the blue alien an offer he couldn't refuse.

* * *

Please let me know what you think!


	2. Opening Negotiations

*gapes at the screen* Omg. I never thought this little idea would generate this kind of interest! Wow! You guys are fantastic!

Oh, and bad me, I didn't say this before, but this entire story takes place about 4 months before the movie takes place.

Chapter 1

Megamind was directing his many Brainbots in prepping his false Lair of the moment, an older warehouse outside of town, but his mind wasn't quite focused on the Evil Plan of the Day. (And it was a great plan too, like that festival with the running of the bulls, but these would be Mechanical Chihuahuas of Doom that would run all throughout the Metrocity area! Mwahaha!) But it was a little difficult to focus with all the other things running through his head. Minion had gone to fetch the object of his thoughts.

His favorite hostage, Roxanne Ritchie.

The last time he'd kidnapped her, those three weeks ago, the reporter had regained consciousness in a state of panic. Roxanne had hurriedly glanced around to get her bearings and then rudely interrupted him right as he was starting his eeevil monologue. She'd actually started fighting to get out of the ropes she'd been tied with, something she hadn't done since the first few kidnappings. The woman had been frantic, nearly doing herself harm trying to get out of the ropes and begging him to let her go.

She had actually begged. Said please and everything. For one horrifying minute, he'd almost thought she was going to cry.

Roxanne had never, ever begged before, not even that very first kidnapping. It had honestly bothered him to see it. She was fire and pride and deliciously sarcastic wit. Not reduced to begging.

When he'd asked what in the world was so eevily important that she would act so unprofessional, she'd told them that right before Minion had nabbed her from her apartment's parking lot, she'd been on her way to the hospital. She'd just received a phone call from her mother telling her that she had gotten terrible news and had just been admitted to the hospital. And that Roxanne needed to get to there as fast as she could.

The woman had looked so...heartbroken. Like she honestly thought whatever news the hospital had for her would destroy her. Minion, of course, completely over-reacted and insisted on letting Miss Ritchie go to her mother. Megamind had agreed, but only because with the state Miss Ritchie was in, she'd be no good as a hostage that day. That was the only reason, really. Really! But this certainly didn't excuse her for any other kidnapping in the future, he'd pointed out with a huff.

She had actually smiled at him in gratitude. No one had ever looked at him like that before except Minion, but his faithful fish had never made it look like that. That smile had changed her entire look. Oh, she was always beautiful, for a hostage, but she always looked smug, snarky, amused, or irritated when she was with him. This time, that smile had seemed to light her from within, making her look happy. Happy...with him? It was certainly something to see.

It had also done strange things to his insides.

Roxanne had sincerely thanked him, asking rather politely if they could drop her off by her car so that she could be on her way to the hospital as fast as possible. Minion had been all set to agree until Megamind had pointed out that she would be in no fit state to drive after getting dosed with knock-out spray twice in one day. If she would agree to keep a blindfold on, they could drop her off right at the hospital. She'd looked shocked at his consideration, but thanked him again with that stunning smile. Minion had taken her to the hospital without further ado, leaving Megamind to ponder over everything that had happened as the Brainbots cleaned up.

Now it was time for another kidnapping and Brilliant Evil Plot by the Master of All Villainy! (He just hoped that she would be in better spirits this time around. Only because it was nowhere near as much fun when she was in a bad mood, of course.)

He perked up a bit at the sound of the invisible car pulling into the building, quickly walking over to the garage bay to see his 'guest's' arrival. "Ah! Minion, you're back: and how is Miss Ritchie doing toda-," the alien stopped in his tracks, jaw hanging slightly in shock. "...what in the world is she wearing?"

The fish glanced down in a bit of confusion. It was a simple sundress of blue cotton, very flattering to her figure, and a soft, black, cotton, button-up cardigan. A pair of strappy blue satin pumps and a small silver necklace completed the outfit. She looked very pretty in it, but Minion didn't quite understand what the big deal was. "Um, a dress?"

Megamind walked slowly around the woman that Minion was already tying to the chair. "Its blue."

Minion quirked an eyebrow. "Yes...?"

"And black," the villain said blankly. "She's wearing blue and black."

"Yes, she is, Sir," Minion said, still confused. "What of it?"

"Don't you get it?" Megamind said in mild shock and awe. "She's wearing my colors! She's _never _worn my colors." Ever since that first kidnapping, he could not recall seeing her wear any blue and very little black, not at work, at her home, or anywhere else. So why was she dressed like this? "What does it mean?"

"I-I'm not sure, Sir. Maybe she wants to get your attention? Why, I have no idea," Minion muttered the last very quietly to himself as he finished arranging Miss Ritchie's ropes.

_If its my attention she wants, she's always had it_, Megamind thought to himself. _The little...temptress_. "I suppose we'll find out what the lady wants when she wakes. Now, onto the plan!"

A very soft, "Mmmm?" sounded from Roxanne. Both aliens turned in some surprise to see her already stirring. Megamind shot Minion a look. "How can she be awake already? What, did you just graze her with the mist from the spray?"

Minion blinked in surprise at the woman. "She got the normal dose, Sir, I swear!"

"I'vvvvve," she swallowed, blinking hard to try and clear her head of the drug's haze. "I'vvvve been wooooorkin'...intolerencyyyyyy...fis a spaaaay..."

The two friends exchanged looks of confusion before Minion spoke up. "Miss Ritchie, do you mean that you've been building up a tolerance to the knockout spray?"

She blinked hard, shaking her head to clear it. "Ye-yeah. For the past threeeee," she cleared her throat, "no, ssssssix years now."

"And all this time, you've stayed quiet for another half hour every single time just so you could spy on us?" Megamind asked, a bit of anger in his voice.

"No! Not spying!" Roxanne said worriedly. "I just didn't want to watch up-I mean, wake up badly like that one time with the cobra pit, remember that?"

"Oh. Yes, I do remember that," the villain said in some embarrassment. That had been the time that he'd gotten more than 500 cobras to milk them for the venom, in the hopes of poisoning Metro Man. It hadn't worked, (they hadn't been able to inject the venom into him, damn the impenetrable skin of his!), so Megamind had decided to use the snakes to threaten Miss Ritchie. After all, there was no need to waste a perfectly good batch of terrifying animals just because they didn't work on Metro Man.

Roxanne had woke up a bit earlier than normal, right before Minion was finished tying her up over the pit of cobras. It turned out that Miss Ritchie had still been groggy from the knockout spray, and had instinctually jerked back from the pit, trying to get away. Normally, she was awake enough to know to hold still, but she hadn't remembered in time. The ropes hadn't been tight enough, and she'd fallen into the pit before Minion could catch her.

It was the only time she'd ever screamed, and Megamind was still certain that his heart had actually stopped. He then had yanked out the dehydration gun and shot the entire pit of snakes into glowing blue cubes in less than 15 seconds. A very shaky and panting reporter had been gently lifted out of the pit by a trio of Brainbots into Megamind's arms. He'd quickly carried her to his own chair, gently setting her down as Minion immediately came over, apologizing profusely for not catching her as Megamind checked her for any bites. Thankfully, she'd not been bitten. The plot had been immediately cancelled, and she'd been knocked out and taken home.

It had been the worst kidnapping ever, in Megamind's opinion. The snakes had been shipped off to the city zoo less than an hour later.

He did have to wonder at her slightly odd behavior now, though. But he would think about that later. "So then, besides your renaissance, which in most everywhere else in the world is called spying-"

"Reconnaisance, Sir," Minion corrected.

"Whatever. So then," he said with a clap of his hands, the Brainbots humming in anticipation, "shall we start? A bit unorthodox beginning, but I'm sure we can work it in-"

_He can say 'unorthodox' but not-oh man. And this is the man I'm trusting my mother's life with? _Roxanne glanced around, taking in the new laser, the robotic animals, the Brainbots, and what surely had to be a neural interface graphed onto Minion so that he could pilot that robotic gorilla suit. _He can do it. I know he can! Oh please, please God, let this work and not go horribly, hideously wrong_.

She took a deep breath, gathered her nerve and called out. "Megamind?"

"-which will overwhelm those pathetic drones Metrocity calls policemen, and then I can-"

Oh hell, he was in full rant mode. She called louder. "Ah, Megamind?!"

-"and bring Metro Mahn to his knees!"

"_Megamind_!"

"Yes? What now, I'm monologing!"

"I-...I..." god, why was this so hard? "I need..."

The blue villain rolled his eyes. "Really, Miss Ritchie, we haven't got all day, we have a duel to keep-"

"Schedule, Sir," Minion pipped up.

"That's what I said! Now spit it out-"

"I need your help."

He paused, certain he hadn't heard her right. "...what?"

"I need your help. I don't know who else to turn to, and you're the only one I'd ever ask for this, and with all your inventions I know you can do it-"

Megamind just stared in something like horror. "Miss Ritchie, are you asking me to kill someone for you?"

She blinked in surprise. "What?! NO! I need you to help me save someones life!"

He gave her a flat look. "...that's a bit outside my area of expertise, don't you think? Shouldn't you be asking your boyfriend for this sort of thing?" Megamind said with a small huff.

Roxanne was glad her hands were tied, or else she would have facepalmed in frustration. "For the last time, he's not my boyfri-that's not important right now. Listen to me, I need the _smartest _man alive, not the strongest! You're the only one that can help!"

Megamind sat down in his swivel chair, leaning forward to look at her. "And what exactly would you have me do, Miss Ritchie?"

"I need you to make a cure for cancer."


	3. Closing Negotiations

*bows* Thank you all so much for your reviews and support. I never thought this little idea would be so popular!

Chapter 2: Closing Negotiations

Megamind blinked in shock, sitting back in his chair as her request sank in. He steepled his fingers as he looked over his hands at her, staring silently for a good minute before he spoke. "You certainly don't ask for anything much, do you? A cure for cancer. It would certainly be a worthy challenge, but its certainly not very eeevil." He arched at eyebrow at her. "Might I ask what brought this on? Did the American Medical Association ask you to make the request, or is this something personal?"

Now her composure cracked a bit, an unmistakable vulnerability in her blue eyes. She took a breath to keep her voice from shaking as she answered. "My mom, she...she was just diagnosed with breast cancer."

His green eyes widened, and an involuntary soft gasp escaped him. He'd seen the ravages of cancer in some of his 'uncles' in the long-term ward of the prison. It was a horrible, wasting disease, and honestly, he wouldn't wish it on anyone. He remembered that during the last kidnapping, she'd been called to the hospital by her mother. This was not good at all.

Roxanne swallowed around the tightness in her throat, trying to regain her composure. "They just found it a few weeks ago, but it's already bad. A rare genetic quirk in my family is causing it to spread rapidly throughout her body"-

"Do you share this genetic quirk? Have you been tested to be sure you're alright?" he interrupted, frowning in concern.

She gave him a small, broken smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "My mom had me get tested the same day we found out about it. According to three different scans, I'm fine. But the doctors are putting it in my files to be tested every year now."

"A sensible course of action considering the circumstances," he said, mentally heaving a sigh of relief. Thank the evil gods she was alright. "Now, you said its spreading rapidly. What stage is the cancer in now?"

Roxanne tried so hard not to break right then; oh god, it _hurt_, it hurt so much to say it out loud. Saying it made it even more real and horrible. "The doctors say its already progressing to the final stage. They're giving her three months to live. She's...Mom is-" _My mom is going to die_. Her breath hitched, and she turned her face away from him, trying to get back her composure. She would not cry in front of him, she would not look weak.

Minion and Megamind exchanged troubled glances while she was distracted. Minion was growing deeply worried for the lady reporter: loosing any member of a family was hard, but it was psychologically proven that the death of a beloved parent was particularly devastating no matter what age. _Poor Miss Ritchie_, he thought to himself. _And Mrs Ritchie, too_.

Roxanne got her breathing under control, her fists unclenched, and that rock hard lump in her throat finally subsided. Her eyes were clear and calm as she looked back at the supervillian. "Can you do it? Can you make a cure?"

For a moment, he couldn't look away from her deep blue eyes. She was looking at him like he held all the answers in the world, like he was her only hope; and with a small start, he realized that he was. There was currently no one else on Earth as smart as he was, so she had no one else to help her now.

He found himself very much not wanting to fail her.

The blue alien steeled himself, giving her question his total attention. It would be difficult; his medical skills were a bit rusted, but the science was not impossible. His mind raced through the different scenarios for a cure. _Hmm, a virus to target the cancerous cells' genetic coding would work, but the chance of mutation in the virus would be quite high; thus it would not be safe without an anti-virus. _He could augment the white blood cells with specific formulas and biochemicals to destroy the cancer, but again, mutation was possible, and safeguards were needed to be sure of prolonged successful remission. _Of course, a purge of the malignancies via injection of pre-programmed nanobots into the bloodstream would have to be done first. _It would buy him time to work, and certainly help lessen the stress on his new patient. And on Roxanne, as well.

It could be done. It would take time and some effort, but it could be done. (He tried very hard not to think about the very real, very human consequence if he failed.) "I am fairly certain of success, given the proper samples and access to your mother's charts, tests, and room. I confess, I'm rather curious how you're going to work around the fact that you've called in the city's resident Master of all Villainy to attend your own mother's health."

The reporter gave a half-smile that somehow manged to look a bit fierce. "I knew you were going to bring that up. Well, the way I see it, there's two options. Option one; we tell the truth and everyone knows about the deal."

Both aliens stared at her in shock. "Um, th-that doesn't sound like a good idea, Ms. Ritchie," Minion said nervously.

"Its not as crazy as you might think," she reassured the alien fish. "If Megamind is working on a cure for cancer, no one is going to stop him." She looked back at the villain. "Hell, the terminal patients might just start cheering as you walk in the doors."

"Not to be completely crass, but I think you might be over-estimating the value of your mother's life if you think they'll just let me waltz into a hospital full of defenseless patients," Megamind said in some disbelief. "My roguish good looks will only get me so far, you know."

Roxanne mentally winced at what she was about to say. Lord knows, she was surprised that he hadn't seemed to catch her saying it earlier. "Look, the whole world knows that your IQ is one of the highest, if not _the _highest, on Earth. The hospital will give you practically anything you want if you're applying that kind of brainpower to curing cancer."

He leaned back in the chair, grinning smugly. "I love hearing you say that. One more time for me, please?"

"The hospital will give you-"

"Before that."

"The terminal patients might start-"

"After that."

She lightly grimaced as she said, "The whole world knows that your IQ is one of the highest-"

_"The _highest, I believe you said?"

"-_the _highest on Earth."

He grinned so wide it showed all of his teeth. "Ah. Music to my ears. Now, you were saying about this particular option?"

"Okay, the pros for this," she went on, "are, first off, that you get to rub this in Metro Man's face for the rest of his life."

Megamind blinked in surprise. "What? How's that going to work?"

"Think about it," she said, her voice rising in enthusiasm. "He saves people from crooks and natural disasters, but that's nowhere near as many people as you might think per year that he saves. If you do this, and find a cure for cancer, you would be saving millions of people each year!"

"...and this is good for me, why?"

"Because in one fell move, you would be completely outdoing him without even breaking a sweat! You would be showing up Metro Man, beating him at his own game, in front of the entire world, for so long as cancer exists!" She gave him a small smile. "You, Metro City's supervillain, would be a far better hero to a lot more people, while barely lifting a finger. That's going to drive Metro Man completely nuts for the rest of his life."

Megamind couldn't help his grin at the thought of that scenario. "Hmm. Alright, I like the sound of that. Go on."

"Second pro: it would show off your genius. The entire world would sing your praises."

"I love hearing you admit that I'm a genius," he said with a small happy sigh. He chuckled merrily, then switched it to an evil cackle at her admission.

Roxanne shot him a look, then went on. "Obviously, pro #3 is that my mother lives, but that's more of a win for me." She mentally added, _And if my personal misery is of any interest to you, pro #4 is that you'll get to watch her disown me for life for even thinking of doing this. _"That's about all I've got for option #1."

"A most interesting proposition so far," he said with a nod to Minion, who nodded in agreement. The villain looked back at her. "Now, what is option #2?

"Option #2 is more covert. We tell no one what's going on, probably saving the hospital staff some heart attacks. I already have a cover story to get you in; claiming you're a prodigy oncologist that is trying out a brand new treatment for cancer. There shouldn't be any trouble as long as you're disguised somehow. And if any doctors try pulling on their egos to say you can't work there, I'll have them on an expose so quick, they'll be seeing their shocked face on the news before they even notice the camera." Here she frowned a bit. "I'm not quite sure on how to get you in past security without them raising a fuss."

Megamind smiled wryly. "Oh, I think I have that part covered on my own. I have invented a brilliant device that can allow me to walk through Metrocity completely undetected! Hard-light technology will alter the appearance of my handsome self into any dull human you care to see."

"Really?" she asked in some surprise. "You already have something that can do that?"

"Oh yes, indeed," he grinned. "Its been a project of mine for a few months now"-

"Ah, Sir," Minion interrupted, recognizing the signs of an immanent rant and wanting to head it off before it could completely derail things. "Should I go get you and Miss Ritchie something to drink? It looks like you both might be awhile at this."

"Oh? Yes, of course," Megamind answered.

"Anything in particular you'd like, Miss Ritchie?"

"I don't suppose you have any sweet tea?" she asked.

"Absolutely! Sir loves his nighttime tea," the cheerful fish replied. "I'll be back in a minute." He hurried to the kitchen.

Megamind and Roxanne watched him go, the girl with an amused smile. Minion really was the sweetest thing. Megamind cleared his throat, catching her attention. "And now we come to the part that has me the most interested, my dear Miss Ritchie, and the most curious."

"What is it?" she asked in mild nervousness, suspecting what he had in mind.

"What's in it for me? I'm all for an intellectual challenge, but this is quite a bit of trouble on my part, don't you think?"

Her heart began to pound madly in her chest, barely visible tremors shivering up and down her body. This was the part of her plan that had her the most worried, even frightened. She'd spent every waking moment after coming up with her plan praying to God that she was not wrong about the blue alien's true nature. _He's not an evil man. He's not! All the times he's had me completely at his mercy, and he's never once harmed or mistreated me. He could have taken anything he wanted, and I couldn't have stopped him. Megamind is a villain, not a monster_. All she could do now was have faith in him.

She opened up the offer to him, laying all her hope in this move. "I... I honestly don't know what I could give you that you'd want. I couldn't think of anything I have that you'd want. So, she swallowed quietly, I'll leave the price up to you. What do you think would be fair?"

He arched an eyebrow, blatantly surprised at her open offer. "I'm a villain, Miss Ritchi. Fair has nothing to do with it. But let me ask you this; what would you be willing to give?"

"Anything. It's my mother..."

Both eyebrows went up now. "Anything?"

"Well... Anything short of murder or something like that."

"Ah, then not truly 'anything'," he said, making air quotes. "So lets narrow it down a bit to what you will do. Would you steal for me?"

Theft, she could live with. "Yes."

"Would you betray people who trust you? Including Metro Mahn?"

That was much harder. But she met his eyes and nodded, blinking back the slight pressure of tears building in her eyes. "Yes."

"Would you hurt people?"

"No." She looks up at him sharply. "I can't hurt people, Megamind. I won't."

"Well, now we've defined the limits of your payment options. I can work with this." He gave her a long, considering look before he nodded to himself. "I've asked you before to join me as my Evil Queen and you've always refused. Would this favor change your answer?"

She swallowed quietly, took a deep breath, and met his eye defiantly. "If that's what you want, then yes."

He couldn't help his smile at her answer before he went on. "An Evil Queen would stand at my side, coming up with ideas to help me, and trying to take out Metro Mahn right along with me. She would be my willing partner. Will you do that?"

Roxanne eyes widened, and she took a steadying breath. "Yes."

His smile grew wider. "It will ruin your reputation and probably give you a criminal record."

"If it saves my mother's life, I don't care."

He stood from his chair, walking forward to stand in front of her. "If you're in, you must be in all the way, Ms. Ritchie. I won't have you backing out or resenting our bargain. You would be my Evil Queen for so long as you live."

Roxanne nodded. "I don't go back on my word. Not if you keep up your end of the bargain."

He frowned. "You know, she'll die eventually. I won't be able to keep her alive forever, even without the cancer. For that matter, she could get hit by a bus crossing the street. I'm only agreeing to cure her cancer, not be her personal superhero."

She gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I know. I wouldn't ask that of you."

He searched her eyes to be sure she was certain, and nodded at the determination that he saw there. "Alright, then. We have an accord, Miss Ritchie." He extended a black gloved hand to her, that she accepted as he helped her stand from her seat. They shook hands to seal their bargain, and then, to her surprise, he lifted up her hand and lightly kissed her knuckles.

"Welcome to the team, my Evil Queen."


End file.
